Federal authorities have charged three people with running a Southern California prostitution ring that recruited women from Eastern Europe.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Virginia Kice said Tuesday that Mher "Mike" Hakopyan and his wife, Natalya Muravyeva, were arrested on Monday. A third suspect, Hakopyan's ex-wife, remains at large and may have left the country.

Court papers allege the three used recruiters to bring Latvian and Russian women to Los Angeles, where they worked as prostitutes.

Federal agents have identified 14 women who the defendants brought to the U.S. or tried to bring to the U.S.

Hakopyan and Muravyeva appeared Monday in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana and were ordered held without bail.

Their attorneys did not immediately return calls Tuesday.